


Picking up the Pieces

by PlatonicLovers



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Cuddles, Custody Battle, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-01-20
Packaged: 2018-03-08 09:42:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3204620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlatonicLovers/pseuds/PlatonicLovers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>“Do you ever feel like the world is taking one big colossal shit on your life?” He turned to look at his partner and only then did Steve realize the mass of Danny’s troubles, weighting him down in his sad eyes. </em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Picking up the Pieces

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s note: This is set after 2x23 where Danny finds out Rachel plans to move and take Grace with her and briefly the court scene. It does contain some heavy Rachel bashing (although she’s not as bad now) but all the same, there’s bashing and slashing of the McDanno kind. All mistakes are mine.

The air was a little more chilled than usual as Steve made his way back home from a short trip with his old Navy buddies. Granted, it hadn’t been a stressful week but Steve needed a change of scenery and when his friends suggested a camping trip like the old days, he took the opportunity. Besides, he had things on his mind he needed to clear.

As he was nearing his local town, his cell phone signal reactivated, and he heard his phone beep twice. Steve pulled up on the side of the road and saw a missed call from Danny and a message notifying him he had missed the call in the early hours of the morning. Given that he’d told Danny where he was going and for how long, Danny knew he would be out of reach and assumed he was needed. Steve called Danny immediately, however the phone rang out and he was greeted by voicemail.

“Danny, it’s Steve; call me back when you get this message.”

Waiting a couple of minutes, he decided to go to Danny’s apartment anyway.  Less than twenty minutes later, Steve made it to Danny’s place and knocked on the door before hearing a grumbled “open” and let himself in. He took a moment to take in his partner sitting on the sofa next to two packs of beer- one finished and with a can in his hand; a quiet, unshaved Danny sat in the semi-dark room.

“Hey buddy, I’m sorry I missed your call. I was out of cell service for the last two days.”

Danny took a can lying on the table and held it out for Steve. He took it and sat down close to Danny and ignored how close they were, enough so that their knees nearly touching. They both stared at the television which had been playing in the background and from what Steve guessed; it was one of Grace’s shows.

Steve knew Danny was a talker. He was all too familiar with the daily rants on health and safety, Hawaii as hell on earth and the correct methods to interrogate suspects. So when Danny was quiet, he knew well enough to give him time.

It felt like an hour had passed when Danny finally spoke.

“Do you ever feel like the world is taking one big colossal shit on your life?” He turned to look at his partner and only then did Steve realize the mass of Danny’s troubles, weighting down in his sad eyes.

“I mean, who gets to delegate all of the world’s shittiest feelings to people? Because I think I got the short straw here. I don’t even remember my life before all of this happened; when it wasn’t so shit.”

Steve was confused. When he left Danny at the office on Friday, things seemed fine and they were sharing jokes as usual but he saw the hurt in Danny’s eyes and waited for him to continue.

“I have done everything she has asked- _everything-_ and it still feels like the Devil woman needs to constantly pick fights with me for the sake of arguing. I moved nearly 5000 miles, abandoned my home, my family, my friends and everything I had ever known just for her and Stan. I barely get to see my little girl as it is but I cherish those two days I get to spend with her.”

 _Rachel._ He should have known. Although Danny joked that Steve was the reason he’d end up insane, he hadn’t forgotten how deflated and irritated Danny became after every phone call he’d shared with his ex-wife. Danny turned to look at Steve and he noticed the same troubled look. “She is my life Steve, and if I can’t see her I will no longer have a purpose in this world. I hate this island and I hate the beaches and I hate not wearing proper goddamn uniform attire to my job!”

He tilted his head to the side and for the first time since Steve had been there, he realized Steve was _there; with him._

“Do you know what I hate the most Steve? I hate that I don’t hate it at all here. You guys; you, Kono, Chin and even Kamekono have made me feel okay for the first time in so long.  It’s just so hard y’know.”

Steve shifted closer to Danny and assuming he had finished speaking, took the can of beer of his hand and gently touched Danny’s arm.

“Did something happen Danno?”

He took a deep breath. “Stan has a job in Las Vegas. Rachel wants to move there with him and take Grace too” Danny spat.

 _Damn._ Steve knew how much he loved his daughter and he loved Gracie too, but being away from her again would destroy Danny. “But- but you’re her father. You get a say in it too and that has to count for something?”

“She says she has to go because he’s her husband and she also thinks I’d put Grace in harm’s way purposely. The shit that’s happened was out of my control. She knows I’d walk to hell and back, barefoot on hot coal before I let anything bad happen to Grace but she’s still trying to fuck up my life. I don’t know Steve, I just…” Even the thought of the situation aggravated him.

“She’s your everything Danny. I know that, Grace knows, the team know, heck someone across the world would know. We’ll figure this out, okay?” Steve gently patted Danny’s lower thigh.

“Danny, you know one of the first things that made me admire you? Your dedication and love for Gracie. Seeing you in the field was one thing; I knew you were brave but against Rachel? I’d rather take my chances with a grenade.”

Danny leaned back on the sofa, lacing his fingers and putting them behind his head as he puffed out air from his nose. Trust Steve to try and make him feel better.

“’You’re the most remarkable father I’ve ever seen or known and Grace knows you love her more than anything. That kind of love and commitment is what makes you an incredible father and friend.  Rachel has no right trying to take Grace from you and I’ll be here to help with whatever you need D. We can fight this.” He added in attempts to console Danny.

They sat there for a while longer before Steve was unsure whether to move and clean the room.

 “Stay a while, would you?” Danny whispered so quietly Steve barely heard the words over Danny’s broken voice.

 With his right hand, he gently stroked Danny’s arm and whispered back; “We’re ohana babe, I’m not going anywhere.” For the first time since the situation arose, he felt a sense of comfort. Everything was still playing in the back of his mind but he wanted to numb it out, just for a little while.

He turned to Steve who had that perfectly even smile falling across his face.  Danny gave Steve a soft look and nodded, not feeling up to it just yet. He slowly leaned towards Steve, eventually settling against his shoulder when Steve put an arm around his shoulder and Danny nuzzled closer to his chest. Steve felt him relax against him and his grip tightened on Danny. The two stayed like that for a while, or until Danny would pull away, Steve thought.

In fact, Danny didn’t pull away until Steve suggested dinner an hour later and he reluctantly got up and handed Steve a leaflet of a local takeaway place. It wasn’t that Danny wasn’t into Steve, because he was. They spent most of their time together and somewhere along the line, he stopped seeing him as Steve, his SEAL boss and saw him as Steve, his closest friend and support system. It had to be this time of all times that they had gotten close and between arguments with Rachel and fighting for Grace, he didn’t know if there was enough energy or willpower to get into something like that again. Something like _love._

Steve on the other hand, patiently and quietly understood. From the tense phone calls he tried hard to not overhear to the dismay on Danny’s face when a Grace-less weekend went by, he allowed his friend to heal. That didn’t stop them from dancing around the idea. They partnered up most days and regularly hung out, drinking, watching the game- or watching anything really. Whatever allowed them to be next to each other was accepted and they comfortably sat all too close, laughing and indulging in one another’s personal space.

It had grown accustom for Steve to stretch his arm along the sofa and sometimes Danny cuddled in when they had a bit too much to drink and other times, Steve flopped down next to Danny and used his side as a rest as Steve stretched out onto the sofa.  But here was his best friend, in the midst of hell and he didn’t want to impose or add more hardship to his pile. And so he offered his arm as usual and when Danny huddled into him after they’d eaten were once again on the sofa, he gently pulled him closer as they paid little attention to the television running, both in worlds of their own.

* * *

 

Weeks had passed and Danny spent hours searching every angle he could to resist going to court but ultimately, it didn’t work. He would be dragged there once again, and the remainder of his time was spent preparing for his testimony.

When he saw Steve arrive in his uniform at the court room, even Danny had to admit, his heart stopped a little. He fixed Steve’s tie and chose to believe that when Steve said to him ‘I’m here’, it was more than just being the court house. As they sat there in anticipation, Steve patted his back comfortingly, resting his hand for a little bit longer than he used to.

Steve watched as Danny’s voice faltered a little on the stand, torn between being angry at her lack of appearance and in fear of losing his daughter and heard him ramble on about how Hawaii had become his home. He no longer sensed the tone of contempt in Danny’s voice as he talked about the island being his home as he did when they first met. He quickly got a few words in before taking his call with the governor and hoped, wished and prayed that the judge would realize just how much Grace meant to them.

* * *

 

Danny won. _They_ had won. Steve had stood firmly in his corner and by his side and even chimed in, although he wanted to hear Steve talking about him and Grace longer just _because_. He watched as Steve’s eyes widened telling him the news and they shared a casual hug and returned to their beers with the governor. Twenty minutes later, he made an excuse to leave and Danny and Steve were left looking out at the sea, soaking in the calmness after the storm. They sat outside for a while before moving indoors to the sofa.

Steve went to get more beers from the fridge while Danny slumped down on the sofa and when he came back, he saw Danny’s feet stretched out onto the table and the man looking relaxed and content. Steve joined him and after they clinked their beer bottles, they were watching a show on television.

“You know, the whole custody thing got me thinking about how you can lose the people you love in a blink of an eye.” Steve turned to look at Danny who focused on the TV and unable to make eye contact. A small wave of fear swept over his mind but he was working on the theory that maybe Steve felt the same way too.

“What’s going on with us Steve?”  Danny asked, unfolding his legs from the table and shifting his body to face Steve.

It wasn’t a shock to Steve that Danny was confronting him about his feelings since he’d reciprocated on their subtle flirting. The case was over, Danny and Grace were both staying on the island and maybe, just maybe, Steve could join their little family.

He moved his hand to Danny’s knee which was firmly tucked over the other. “I feel like this. This is exactly where I want to be.”

 “And just when were you going to tell me, Army man?” His demeanour was light and airy with the aid of the alcohol they’d drunk from their celebrations. But he wasn’t too drunk to know what he had wanted.  He’d been through hell and back and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to fight all the way for his share of happiness. Maybe happiness wasn’t the place he was in like an infested pineapple but the people he was with.

“Danno we’ve been cuddling on sofas for a while now. I think you’d have to be pretty dense to miss what’s going on.” Steve retorted, deadpanned.

“It’s easy to _see_ what’s going on but it’s also polite to _tell_ people where they stand Steven.” By now, the spark had returned to Danny’s eyes and he wore the shit eating grin that Steve loved. His eyes crinkled at the corners and Steve was honoured to be the cause of it.

“Fine. I like you Danny Williams. I like you a lot, in fact I like you enough to hang out with you at your barely liveable habitat, get through the trash-like environment you’ve been building up the last few weeks and often cuddle you. And also, I’d like to go out with you.”

“Okay firstly, I just haven’t got around to cleaning and it is perfectly liveable or I would not be alive Steve, and secondly, ‘go out with me’; what are we, twelve?”  With the over enthusiastic hand gestures and ranting, Steve could tell Danny, _his_ Danny was here and stronger than ever.

Steve grabbed his hands to pull him closer and wrapped an arm around Danny’s shoulders, as Danny stretched an arm across Steve’s waist and relaxed against his chest.

 “What if you had perished from the garbage D, and you were in heaven dreaming this whole scene?” Steve mumbled as Danny shifted, moving his chin to rest on Steve’s shoulder.

“Well then, I’d be able to make you disappear a lot easier.” They smirked at each other before Steve pressed a firm kiss to Danny’s forehead. They hadn’t talked about how their relationship would pan out; whether they moved slowly or moved in together tomorrow. That could wait. All Steve knew was that he wanted to keep Danny in his arms.

“Thank you. For waiting and being here.”

Steve smiled. “Always Danno.”

Danny listened to the steady sounds of Steve breathing and regardless of what had happened over the past few weeks, here and now was enough to make him feel settled.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
